Hancock Whitney Corp Purchases 73,045 Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 1,161.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 79,332 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,045 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $9,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PM. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 684.4% in the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Sachetta LLC grew its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 64.8% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position in Philip Morris International by 457.5% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 57.4% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other news, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,402,431.64. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 9.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM opened at $129.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $202.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $124.77 and its 200 day moving average is $114.85. Philip Morris International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.82 and a fifty-two week high of $134.15.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 117.94% and a net margin of 10.35%. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. This is an increase from Philip Morris International’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PM shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Philip Morris International Profile

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.